I forget what thread this might be relevant to so started this one. Some of us do possess a "faith" in bourgeois democracy while others are more sceptical and envisage a socialist party being deprived of the liberties to organise peacefully and constitutionally. I just came across this. Elected politicians not being permitted to sit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist_Party_of_America#Expulsion_of_Socialists_from_the_New_York_Assembly_.281920.29
I did a quick check to see if in the UK a democratically elected MP could be expelled and found this under the oaths
Quote:
"II Public duty By virtue of the oath, or affirmation, of allegiance, taken by all Members when they are elected to the House, members have a duty to be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen, her heirs and successors, according to law. Action could, at least in theory, be taken against any Member not complying with this particular duty in the code of conduct. Any complaint alleging that the conduct of a Member was incompatible with the code of conduct would be dealt with by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the Committee on Standards and Privileges. In this sense, the oath is akin to issues of privilege or exclusive cognisance, where Parliament holds the power to regulate its own composition and internal procedures, including the discipline of Members"
My emphasis
file:///C:/Users/AP-Lenovo/Downloads/RP01-116.pdf
So i read this to say even if the SPGB MP took the oath, he or she could be still challenged on "bearing true allegience" to the crown because Parliament not the law has the power to determine the composition and discipline of its members. I'm just raising a constitutional question.
Why has avowed republican MPs not been expelled in the past….would it be worth the hassle since they aren't a threat to the capitalist system…On the other hand, to hinder and thwart a growing socialist movement, one that is prepared to deceive by readily taking a pledge of allegience…who knows what constitutional lawyers might come up with….
Just a thought to play around with